POLAHS Softball Wins 3rd Straight CIF-LACS Division 3 Title

CARSON - Total domination.

Complete obliteration.

Emphatic annihilation.

So many ways to describe how easy it looked for Port Of Los Angeles High softball in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division 3 championship game against Northridge Academy at Cal State Dominguez Hills. In their quest to 'three-peat', the Polar Bears made an undefeated Pumas team look completely mediocre.

POLA would steamroll to a 16-3 victory over Northridge Academy to cement their status as the top dog in Division 3 of the City Section for a third consecutive year.

This battle between the top two-seeded teams in the division seemed like a heavyweight bout, but the top-seeded Polar Bears (28-8) took control of this championship tilt from the outset.

Sophomore pitcher Nicolle Miranda quickly set down the Pumas (20-1) in order to begin the game, getting that third out on a spectacular diving catch by junior center fielder Sarah Maldonado, who gave POLA its first run of the game in the bottom of the first by leading off with a single, stole second base, and scored on Miranda's one-out single.

In the second inning, POLA would strike again with two more runs. Junior shortstop Kelsea Short and sophomore third baseman Savana Ramirez quickly tagged Northridge Academy sophomore pitcher Jessica Moore with back-to-back doubles to left, with Ramirez's double driving home Short for a 2-0 lead. Ramirez would make it 3-0 by scoring off a fielding error by sophomore shortstop Breanna Jimenez.

POLA would further put their foot on the gas with a five-run bottom of the third inning.

An error, Ramirez's 2-RBI single with her also scoring off a passed ball, and a RBI-single from freshman designated player Emily Ibarra would increase the Polar Bears' advantage to 8-0, but they weren't done just yet. Ramirez delivered with another RBI-single in the bottom of the fourth, then in the fifth, junior first baseman Allison Bayer's two-RBI double and sophomore second baseman Rosemary Garcia's RBI-single upped the lead to an insurmountable 12-0 edge.

From there, POLA coach Melissa Bugarin-Espinoza emptied her bench and everyone that was healthy and able to play, got to play.

Miranda was rolling in the first five innings, striking out eight while allowing only two hits, then freshman pitcher Vanessa Munoz was inserted into pitch for the top of the sixth. The Pumas would score three runs off Munoz, highlighted by a two-run single with two outs by sophomore first baseman Ashley Cortez.

All that did was ignite more fire into the Polar Bears in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore outfielder Adriana Vargas hit a pinch-hit RBI-single, then an error allowed senior catcher Brianna Grayson to score. Munoz's RBI-single followed by a second RBI-hit from Garcia rounded out the scoring.

Miranda re-entered to pitch in the seventh, retired the side in order with two strikeouts to start the inning. Once Bayer caught a pop-up for the final out of the season, it was finally time for POLA to celebrate for a third time.

Bayer and Ramirez were truly outstanding offensively.

Continuing her outstanding onslaught for the playoffs, Bayer went 3-for-5 with two doubles, three runs scored and two RBIs to finish an incredible 10-of-14 in the playoffs for a sparkling .714 batting average, which also includes four home runs, three doubles and 9 RBIs. Ramirez was also efficient, going 3-for-5 with a double, 4 RBIs and two runs scored for the Polar Bears, who also saw Miranda go 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI.

Garcia went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs and two runs scored as well for POLA. Miranda also pitched a six-inning two-hitter with 10 strikeouts and walking none.

In all, POLA pounded out 18 hits against Northridge Academy, and played sharp defensively with only one error. Maldonado, sophomore right fielder Briana Valencia and sophomore left fielder Tiffany Torres combined for four catches in the outfield, while Short made two great plays on pop-ups at shortstop.

Once Bugarin-Espinoza and her husband (co-coach) Moses both took turns holding the perpetual championship trophy, the team saluted Grayson by letting her have her final moment in the sun as a Polar Bear, lifting her up high as she held the trophy, closing out her four-career at POLA with a third championship ring.

Short, Maldonado and Bayer join Grayson as fellow three-time champions and will go for rarefied air in 2014 trying to win a fourth consecutive championship.

POLA in three years competing in the CIF-LACS softball playoffs, now has a 10-0 record in playoff games with three championship victories to boot, following up their 2-0 win over Northridge Academy in the 2011 final at Birmingham High of Lake Balboa, and last year's 6-0 victory over Crosstown League rival Harbor Teacher Prep of Wilmington at UCLA's Easton Stadium.

After starting the 2013 season 3-5, the Polar Bears would then proceed to win 25 out of their remaining 28 games, closing out the season with a six-game winning streak, also posting a school-record 11-game win streak during that stretch, piling up impressive victories over the likes of Empire of Arizona, Verrado of Arizona and Banning of Wilmington along the way.

This year's championship run was the most profound, as POLA crushed the likes of New Designs of Los Angeles, Legacy of South Gate, Valley Academy Arts & Sciences of Granada Hills and Northridge Academy by a combined margin of 66-4.

Now THAT is total domination.

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